An X-post in simplified Chinese shared on February 13, 2026 reads, “A Taiwanese flag was unexpectedly hoisted at a drone show on the Bund in Shanghai.”
The attached video, which has been viewed more than 171,000 times, shows unmanned drones forming the shape of Taiwan’s flag with the Shanghai skyline in the background. A voice can be heard saying, “Wow, it’s so beautiful…Taiwan…Good luck…”
Screenshot of a false post taken on February 26, 2026. Red X and AI label added by AFP
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the autonomous island under its control.
Under President Xi Jinping, China’s military pressure on the island has intensified. Following the US approval of arms sales to Taipei and comments by the Japanese prime minister that the use of force against Taiwan could justify a military response from the Japanese government, the Chinese government conducted a live-fire exercise aimed at simulating a blockade of the autonomous island in late 2025 (archive link).
In an interview with AFP in February 2026, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-de emphasized the need for Taiwan to dramatically strengthen its defense capabilities (archive link). He also warned that if China were to occupy the democratic island, countries in the region would become Beijing’s next target.
AFP news agency debunked a number of false reports about the relationship between the two countries, including an AI-generated video that purportedly showed a delivery man holding a Taiwanese flag in the Chinese capital.
The fabricated video also went viral on Instagram, Facebook, and threads. Some users doubted its authenticity, while others thought it was real.
“These people are so bold, they dare to raise the Taiwanese flag in the sky for a performance in Shanghai!” said one of them.
Another person wrote, “This shows China is a free country!! It’s your freedom to express your opinion! Isn’t that great?”
However, the video is generated by AI.
A reverse image search on Google shows a YouTube clip showing the same scene shared on January 18th, with a warning that it contains altered or synthetic content (archive link).
Comparison of a fake video (L) to which AFP added AI labels and a screenshot of a YouTube clip.
When the camera zooms in on the flag, the tip of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower appears to be jerky and curved. The Shanghai skyline shown in the fake video also appears different from the real one in the AFP photo taken in 2025. The Pudong Art Museum (a rectangular building near the coast) has disappeared, and the shapes of some of the skyscrapers are distorted or blurred.
Comparison of fake clip (left and center) and AFP photo screenshot. AI artifacts are marked red by AFP
We used the Hive Moderation AI video detection tool to analyze the video and found it “may contain AI-generated or deepfake content” (archive link).
Hive moderation analysis screenshot
Footage from an actual drone show featuring Taiwan’s national flag in August 2022 published by local media CTV shows that the flag appears to be formed of scattered dots, unlike the fake video where the space is filled with glowing lights (archive link).
AFP has published a guide to identifying AI-generated content.
